7 comments so far

This looks really good. The proportions look good. I noticed that you are using the same indents on the legs that Darrell has used before. I used the jig that is used in the the book and they came out pretty good. By the way, I have read and used Darrell’s book so much I may have to get another one since I am wearing this one out. LOL. Great Job on the design as usual. Ed. E.

Are you aware of the photo match function in Sketchup? There are several tutorials available (for a start you might try this basic one and also this one ) you could confirm the proportions of your AutoCAD version using Peart’s photo and photo match (you can import your AutoCAD dwg into Sketchup for direct a comparsion). In the future you might want to use Skecthup’s photo match at the start of the process to establish all the key proportions and then export to AutoCAD to complete the dwgs or you could model the whole project in Sketchup.

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of an artistic work...

i threw together a quick sketchup model of the table using your dimensions and assuming a 16” depth and it looks pretty good. i used 4” over hang on each side and 2” legs just going off a rough scale of your drawing (by holding a ruler to the computer screen lol)i was worried the drawer might look to wide but it looks ok in “3d”

Thanks Ed. I’ve had Darrell’s book for years (from the Gamble House gift shop), but had only leafed through it. It wasn’t until I found TheWoodWhisperer’s blog about taking Darrell’s class that I decided to read it all the way through. It’s very informative with great pics and a decent read.

jlsmith5963, I would love to be able to do this stuff in SketchUp, but it would take me as long to learn as building the table. I really need to sit down with the tutorials and dig into it soon. The import functions you’re talking about sound cool too.

I don’t know if I need to state it or reiterate it, but I’m not trying to “copy” Darrell’s design. His plans are for a square-drawered night stand/end table, and Marc & Brad made arched drawer bottoms in class. Since I’m already making our night stands (see other blog), I needed to apply the Greene & Greene details to another project. The way our living room is now, we need a sofa table (longer and shallower). If we ever rearrange/move, it can be a foyer table under a mirror. I thought this would be a good excuse (read rationalization) to dig into the G&G details.

With that being said, I’ll bet there’s a way in SketchUp to “copy” Marc’s table and stretch it into a sofa table. I just thought of that. Sigh…

Mike, please post a pic or link. I’d love to see it. As I’ve said before, I’m envious of everyone else’s ability with SketchUp. As a relatively bright person, it’s frustrating that this tool has eluded me.

One more thing I forgot to mention in the original post. I’m going to try hard to fit a tsuba into the design somewhere. Since the aprons will be pretty crowded, I might have to do an inlay on the top somehow.

This is not exactly what I had in mind, but close. It was ironically found on Darrell’s website. I wish tsubas were covered in Darrell’s and Robert Lang’s books. It looks like I’ll have to draw that up in AutoCAD too.

It’s inconceivable to me that someone with AutoCAD skills can’t master Sketchup. Once you familiarize yourself with the basics of Sketchup your biggest problem will be that your AutoCAD keyboard shortcut habits won’t work in Sketchup. Seriously, adding Sketchup skills will be one of the most productive things you can do as a woodworker who already has AutoCAD skills. I say this as someone who uses multiple CAD programs and has used AutoCAD since it was first introduced back in the early 80’s.

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of an artistic work...